The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is out: here’s how to get it

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is now ready for download. There are two ways to get it. You can grab ISO images here, and a 5 MB installer that'll also check your system's compatibility here. The executable installer should result in a smaller download, but the ISO will be better if you want to install on multiple machines.

"We really liked Windows 7 when it launched. It felt like a big step forward in the short time that had passed since Vista. Now, as we creep closer to a likely release near the end of this year, we can't shake a sense of doubt. Windows 8 still feels like two very different operating systems trying to be one. The potential is hugely alluring -- a single OS to rule both the tablet and the desktop -- and with each subsequent version we keep hoping this will be the one that ties it all together. Sadly, as of the Consumer Preview, we're still seeing a lot of loose threads.

As it stands, Windows 8 is a considerably better tablet operating system than any previous version has managed to be. However, it's still a clumsier desktop OS than Windows 7. That's a problem Microsoft must fix before release."

A big middle finger to all those who screamed "Don't judge by the DP! Wait until the beta!"

I think the best way to test it without throwing it in a VM, while still having almost native performance and without messing with your partitions is to install it on a VHD. That guide is for the Developer Preview but should work just as well for the CP.

Why would it not be safe? The developer preview version worked fine in Fusion, well as well as a developer preview could.

Good news. May play around with it for fun!

Install seems to be working. Save yourself an annoyance, and do the "expert" install on your VM. The default doesn't know how to partition and format your disk, and will kick you back to the beginning. Annoying.

And what's up with that fish icon at startup? Looks really out-of-place. 1985 throwback.

Why would it not be safe? The developer preview version worked fine in Fusion, well as well as a developer preview could.

Good news. May play around with it for fun!

Install seems to be working. Save yourself an annoyance, and do the "expert" install on your VM. The default doesn't know how to partition and format your disk, and will kick you back to the beginning. Annoying.

And what's up with that fish icon at startup? Looks really out-of-place. 1985 throwback.

Downloading now. Hope it installs in VMWare. Been dying to try this since the developer's preview. So far it look awesome and welcome relief from that bag of balls OS X Lion and makes Mountain Lion look like a calculator.

Installs fine.

And... I predict that there are going to be a lot of disappointed folks. The interface takes some figuring out... at least with a non-touchscreen.

Downloading now. Hope it installs in VMWare. Been dying to try this since the developer's preview. So far it look awesome and welcome relief from that bag of balls OS X Lion and makes Mountain Lion look like a calculator.

Installs fine.

And... I predict that there are going to be a lot of disappointed folks. The interface takes some figuring out... at least with a non-touchscreen.

OK -- the trick (for VM on the Mac) is hitting the command key as the home button. Things get a lot simpler after that.

Now trying to do anything useful. Like change the screen size settings to suck less.

Downloading now. Hope it installs in VMWare. Been dying to try this since the developer's preview. So far it look awesome and welcome relief from that bag of balls OS X Lion and makes Mountain Lion look like a calculator.

Installs fine.

And... I predict that there are going to be a lot of disappointed folks. The interface takes some figuring out... at least with a non-touchscreen.

OK -- the trick (for VM on the Mac) is hitting the command key as the home button. Things get a lot simpler after that.

Now trying to do anything useful. Like change the screen size settings to suck less.

Might be interesting to set up in a VM with VNC output enabled. Load it up in a VNC client on an iPad and see how it goes...

Downloading now. Hope it installs in VMWare. Been dying to try this since the developer's preview. So far it look awesome and welcome relief from that bag of balls OS X Lion and makes Mountain Lion look like a calculator.

Installs fine.

And... I predict that there are going to be a lot of disappointed folks. The interface takes some figuring out... at least with a non-touchscreen.

OK -- the trick (for VM on the Mac) is hitting the command key as the home button. Things get a lot simpler after that.

Now trying to do anything useful. Like change the screen size settings to suck less.

Might be interesting to set up in a VM with VNC output enabled. Load it up in a VNC client on an iPad and see how it goes...

I'd be surprised if all the controls translated correctly. Still, where there's life, there's hope.This thing's pretty fast. 'Course, I gave it 4 cores of 2.5 GHz i7 and 4 GB of RAM. Still -- lightweight and responsive. Oh yeah, and it's running on a Mercury Pro SSD.

The visual language is bothering me a bit. Remember the myth about how Macs were supposed to dumb things down for common users, and it was impossible to customize? Then the iPhone/iPad were the next iteration of that?

I feel like I'm being given carefully rounded and padded toys here. I'm locked in a McDonalds Playland, and the rubber fumes are slightly overwhelming.

Still and all, not bad. Will be interesting to see how this works out in practice.

You all have to remember for a BIG portion of customers (enterprise/corporate) metro is a non issue, most enterprise users will simply see a login screen that will bring them into a desktop view. Just as before...

BUT home users will see something a bit different - you cant think of it like a tech nerd, but your mom Having put the dev preview on a machine for some non-techie peoples it did not take long for them to figure it out, and most really liked the metro interface, simply because most they do is just browse the web/check email.

Its new and different - some will hate it, but I think a majority of people will like it.

Ok, XBox Companion app does not work properly yet (though XBox Live Games appears to?). Marketplace is spare, but gets the idea across. Installing stuff from it now.

Currently, I'm a little confused about the whole game situation. I now have XBox Live games across three platforms, and no clear visual demark about which ones I can get on my tablet, which ones are for my Windows Phone, and which ones really are just for the XBox. That's going to need some cleanup.

I like using my Live account to set everything up. That's pretty nice.

Evernote's app is pretty simple right now, but pointed in the right direction.

I'm annoyed that the Music app doesn't recognize my Zune Pass, being as it looks to be replacing Zune on the Metro interface (or maybe it's a placeholder until Zune is ready for Metro, who knows).

Touch keyboard is WAY easy to use, even though it takes some getting used to with the dedicated number pad (like a real keyboard, but unlike any other touchscreen keyboard I've used).

People works pretty well, but I expected that, as they took the interface from WP7.

It would be nice to have those settings automatically synced from my phone to tablet, seeing as they're both tied to my Live account, but whatever.